2008 NFL Draft Journal

The 2008 NFL Draft is underway and although the Vikings don’t have a first-round pick, vikings.com will have coverage from the first round until the last pick. We’ll start things off with a live journal that will run all day Saturday, and we’ll also provide written and video content of the Vikings second-round pick.

Click here for all of vikings.com's draft-related coverage, including pre-draft articles, mock drafts, expert analysis, combine coverage, and much more.

Sunday

7:14 p.m. - Here are a few draft notes, courtesy of the Vikings public relations staff...

The Vikings selected five players in the 2008 Draft, the fewest in team history.
Last Notre Dame center selected in the NFL draft was Dave Huffman in 1979, a second-rounder, #43 overall.
The Vikings have drafted a quarterback in each of the past three years - Tarvaris Jackson in 2006, Tyler Thigpen in 2007 and John David Booty in 2008.
Booty’s head coach at Southern Cal., Pete Carroll, was a Vikings assistant coach from 1985-89, tutoring defensive backs under Bud Grant and Jerry Burns.
The Vikings have selected 14 players in the 2006 and 2007 drafts; of those, 11 of the 14 made the team and ten of those 11 started.
The Vikings had five picks in 2008 and only six picks in 2006.
The last Notre Dame player drafted by the Vikings is Vikings Radio Network color analyst Pete Bercich, a seventh-round linebacker in 1994, the 211th overall selection.
2008 is the 1st year the Vikings did not have a first-round pick since 1992.

5:48 p.m. - Click here to see what Coach Brad Childress and VP of Player Personel Rick Spielman had to say regarding the second day of the NFL Draft.

5:41 p.m. – The St. Louis Rams have concluded the 2008 NFL Draft by making the 252nd overall selection - David Vobora. Each year, the final player selected in the draft is titled “Mr. Irrelevant,” and there is an entire history and tradition of the Mr. Irrelevant characterization that you can read here.

A local trivia note: In 2003, Gustavus Adolphus College (St. Peter, MN) receiver Ryan Hoag was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with the final selection. Hoag would spend time during training camps and preseason play with the Giants (2003), Vikings (2004) and Redskins (2006) during training camp and the preseason.

4:51 p.m. – The draft may be nearing its conclusion but that does not mean the action will be ending soon. Once the last team makes its selection, each of the 32 franchises will have their coaches and scouts on the phone dialing up the top college free agents.

Players who didn’t hear their names called become free agents and can sign with a team of their choice.

“I know we’re getting ready to stack that board (of undrafted players) and I know our scouts and coaches are anxiously awaiting the end of this draft so we can get going on the free agents,” said Vikings Vice President of Player Personnel Rick Spielman. “We’ve had some success here in the past, even last year, in going after some of the top college free agents and we’ll be just as aggressive [this year].”

The undrafted rookie free agent process is critical for NFL teams as they look to both fill out their roster and open up rookie minicamps within the next couple of weeks. Teams like the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens, and even the Vikings, have seen significant contributions from undrafted free agents.

vikings.com will attempt to post the names of all the free agents that sign with the team as soon as they are made available to us by the Vikings personnel department.

4:35 p.m. – Jaymar Johnson conference call transcript, for your reading pleasure.

4:28 p.m. – We now have conference call transcripts for both John Sullivan and Letroy Guion.  We've also added a few new videos to the hub page, so make sure to check it out.

4:19 p.m. – Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress and Vice President of Player Personnel Rick Spielman just finished up addressing the media following the execution of all their 2008 draft picks. Much of the discussion revolved around the selection of former Southern Cal. quarterback John David Booty.

The Vikings had two fifth-round picks when the draft rolled over from the fourth round into the fifth round, and it was at that time that the Vikings began to try and position themselves in an attempt to select Booty.

Ultimately, the Vikings surrendered the first of two fifth-rounders and they also sent Green Bay their lone seventh-round pick in order to move up to the second spot in the fifth round.

“We got very aggressive once he was there in the fifth [round] to try and go up and get him,” Spielman said. “And we talked to a lot of the teams up there, but in talking to those teams there were three or four teams that were trying to make a push for him, too. We were fortunate enough to make that trade with Green Bay.”

Coach Childress pointed to Booty’s experience in the Southern Cal. offense as a positive and is confident he’ll assimilate into the Vikings offense quickly.

“The thing that we liked about looking at him was that you could see many of the throws that we have within this offense, you can see him operate and do,” said Childress.

3:36 p.m. – Click here for more info on Jaymar Johnson, and go here for more on John Sullivan.

3:19 p.m. – The Vikings selected receiver Jaymar Johnson with their second of two sixth-round draft choices (193rd overall). As of this posting, the Vikings don't have any more selections remaining in the 2008 NFL Draft. More details will be posted shortly!

3:01 p.m. – With their first of two sixth-round picks, the Vikings selected former Notre Dame center John Sullivan with the 187th overall choice. More details will be posted shortly!

2:44 p.m. – Here are some more stats (Rounds 4 and 5) from the 2008 NFL Draft...

Round 4
Total time – 1:50
36 picks (five compensatory picks, one choice exercised in 2007 Supplemental Draft)
Three underclassmen
Ten defensive backs selected, including Justin King of Penn State and Jack Ikegwuonu of Wisconsin

Round 5
Total time – 1:32
32 picks (one compensatory pick, one choice exercised in 2007 Supplemental Draft)
Two underclassmen
Vikings traded up into fifth round to select former Southern Cal. quarterback John David Booty with the second selection (137^th overall).
Vikings also selected defensive tackle Letroy Guion in the fifth round. He was the 19^th pick of the round and the 152^nd overall

2:33 p.m. – The first Minnesota Golden Gopher has been taken.  Free safety Dominique Barber, a Plymouth native and younger brother of Cowboys running back Marion Barber III, will be close in proximity to his brother, as he was taken with the seventh pick of the sixth round by the Houston Texans.

2:27 p.m. – Here is the transcript from Boot's conference call.  The Vikings have two picks in the sixth round, and they should be making those -- presuming there are no deals -- within the next hour or so.

1:44 p.m. – Here's some more info on Mr.Guion.

Also, click here to view a video on John David Booty, the Vikings first pick in the fifth round.

1:31 p.m. – The Vikings selected defensive tackle Letroy Guion out of Florida State with a fifth-round selection (150th overall). More details to come.

1:09 p.m. – In order to take Booty, the Vikings traded up with the Packers.  In return, the Vikings gave up their seventh-round pick (No. 209 overall) and their first fifth-round pick (No. 150 overall).  They still have their second fifth-round pick, No. 152 overall.

We'll have more on Booty as the day goes on, but click here to see much more on the newest Vikings quarterback.

12:44 p.m. – The Vikings have traded up and selected quarterback John David Booty. More to come shortly...

12:29 p.m. – Here are some stats on the first three rounds of the 2008 NFL Draft…

Round 1
Total time – 3:30
31 picks (New England forfeited pick #31)
11 underclassmen
Eight offensive linemen taken, all tackles
First time since 1990 that no receivers were selected
Southern Cal. led all schools with four first-round selections

Round 2
Total time – 2:23
32 picks
11 underclassmen
Ten receivers selected
Litchfield, MN, native John Carlson selected with seventh pick (38th overall) by Seattle
Apple Valley, MN, native Trevor Laws selected with 16th pick (47th overall) by Philadelphia.

Round 3
Total time – 1:41
36 picks (four compensatory picks)
Nine underclassmen
Kansas City chose running back Jamaal Charles and safety DaJuan Morgan with selections obtained from the Vikings in the Jared Allen trade

11:45 a.m. – It's been a little slow around Winter Park this morning, but things should pick up here in the near future, as the Vikings have a pair of picks in the fifth round.  In the meantime, check out this video interview with Vikings legend Randall McDaniel.

10:25 a.m. –Thanks to the fine folks at Arkansas State, we now have some nice action shots of Tyrell Johnson.  Click here to head to his player page to view said pictures.

10:14 a.m. – One heavy trend from Saturday’s draft action was the high number of trades that occurred. It was also interesting to note how rich some of those trades were, with teams surrendering two and sometimes even three picks to get a player they targeted.

It started last week when the Vikings traded their first-round pick and two third-rounders for defensive end Jared Allen. The Vikings clearly coveted Allen, and in order to obtain the 2007 sack leader, the Vikings had to hand over three picks to Kansas City.

But a handful of other teams exchanged multiple picks to acquire the player they desired.

“I think you saw today (Saturday) teams that wanted to go up and get someone they coveted did what it took to go get him and to make sure they had their guy,” Vikings Vice President of Player Personnel Rick Spielman said. “We felt Jared Allen; we had to do what we had to do to go get a Jared Allen, to get that deal done. What you can see there has been a lot of some pretty rich deals as far as trades and stuff going but again, it’s all going to come down to did you get the player that you coveted and is that player going to help you get to where you need to go?”

To further prove the point and to echo Spielman’s comments, here’s a brief breakdown of some of the other trades that went down on Saturday…

Jacksonville traded the No. 26 pick, two third-round selections and a fourth-rounder to Baltimore in order to move up and select Derrick Harvey with the ninth overall choice.

Later in the first round, Baltimore moved back up in the first round to select quarterback Joe Flacco. In order to do so, they handed pick No. 26, a third-round and sixth-round pick to the Houston Texans.

Atlanta, who selected quarterback Matt Ryan with the third overall pick, and then they moved up into the first round again to select offensive lineman Sam Baker. In order to do so, the Falcons traded two first-round picks and a third-round selection to the Washington Redskins.

8:45 a.m. – The second day of the 2008 NFL Draft is about to get under way from the Big Apple.  The Dolphins, who by most accounts did very well on Saturday, kick off the third round with the 64th overall pick in the draft shortly after 9 a.m. CST.  

Here is a breakdown of the Vikings remaining picks:

5th Round: 15th (150nd overall) and 17th (152nd overall)

6th Round: 21st (187th overall) and 27th (193rd overall)

7th Round: 2nd Pick (209th overall)

Stay tuned to vikings.com all day long for extensive coverage.

Saturday

9:08 p.m. – The video of the press conference is now posted.  That's it for today, but stay tuned on Sunday for more coverage of the 2008 NFL Draft.  As of now, the Vikings have five picks remaining.

8:41 p.m. – We now have the transcript of Johnson's conference call with the media posted, and both the video and transcript of Childress & Spielman will be posted within a few minutes.

8:28 p.m. – Among the videos that can be found on the vikings.com Draft Hub, any Vikings fan would be foolish if they didn't watch Ben Leber's interview with Jared Allen.  Fabio, mustaches, and mullets are brought up; how can you not watch?!?!

7:30 p.m. – To do a little housekeeping, here are the details of the Vikings trade with the Eagles: the two teams swapped second-round picks, with the Eagles moving down to the 47th spot and the Vikings moving up to the 43rd spot.  Additionally, the Vikings gave the Eagles their fourth-round pick but got the Eagles fifth-round pick back in return.

Head coach Brad Childress and Vice President of Player Personnel Rick Spielman just spoke about the team's second-round pick.  vikings.com will have video, quotes and much more posted shortly.

7:04 p.m. – Make sure to check out the vikings.com Draft Hub for everything related to the NFL Draft, including newly posted video interviews with Rick Spielman, Mark Wilf, and Zygi Wilf.

6:51 p.m. – The second of those two notable Minnesotans was just taken by the Eagles, who used the 47th overall pick of the draft -- which was acquired from the Vikings just minutes before in the Tyrell Johnson trade -- to select Apple Valley's Trevor Laws.  Like John Carlson, Laws left the Land of 10,000 Lakes to head to South Bend to play for the Fighting Irish.  He also talked with vikings.com at the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine.

6:25 p.m. – The Vikings traded up in the second round (with the Eagles) to select safety Tyrell Johnson out of Arkansas State.

6:13 p.m. – As the Vikings second round pick (No. 47 overall) fast approaches, one of the two most notable players in the draft with a Minnesota connection has been picked.  John Carlson, a tight end out of Notre Dame who is originally from Litchfield, was taken by the Seattle Seahawks with the seventh pick of the second round (38th overall).  This past February, at the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine, Carlson talked with vikings.com about the combine experience.

5:56 – The first round has concluded and we have a position-by-position breakdown of the action. Without further ado, here it is…

QB – Two guys were drafted – Matt Ryan of Boston College to Atlanta and Joe Flacco of Delaware to Baltimore – and the one of note here might be Flacco. He went 18th overall and some may say that’s a bit early, but Flacco will be determined to prove otherwise for a team starving for an offensive jumpstart.

RB – Five running backs went in the first round, including a run of three in a row from picks 22-24. Darren McFadden was selected by the Raiders, but the most notable development may have been the Steelers selection of Rashard Mendenhall at pick #23. That may have been slightly later than many expected. Also, Mewelde Moore left the Vikings to look for more of an opportunity with a different team (Pittsburgh), and now just a year after seeing the Vikings draft a running back, Moore sees his new team do the same.

WR/TE – No receivers were taken in the first round for the first time since 1990, but the Jets chimed in late in the opening round to take Dustin Keller, a tight end from Purdue.

OL – One of the main storylines of the first round was the amazing run of offensive lineman. Eight offensive lineman, including a run of five from picks #12-19, were taken in the opening round. What a run!

DL – The Vikings may have been coveting Florida defensive end Derrick Harvey, but the acquisition of Jared Allen last week extinguished an urgent need at the position. With that being said, it was interesting to see Harvey go eighth overall. You wonder if the Vikings would’ve traded up that far to get him. Needless to say, the Allen trade worked out pretty well from a draft perspective for the Vikings.

LB – Only two were taken in the first round, and they were taken back-to-back. One of those picks was New England’s, as Jerod Mayo was selected by Bill Belichick and company with the tenth overall selection (they traded down from #7).

DB – No defensive backs were taken until #11, but then a total of six were taken off the board, including the New York Giants selection of former Miami safety Kenny Phillips at pick #31.

Here’s a breakdown of the first round by college conference…

ACC – 7
PAC 10 – 6
SEC – 6
Big 10 – 4
Big East – 2
Big East – 1
Sun Belt – 1
A-10 – 1
C-USA – 1
Mountain West – 1
Ohio Valley - 1

4:21 p.m. – The Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions – both fellow members of the NFC North – have made their first round picks.  The Bears, in an effort to fortify their offensive line, selected Chris Williams, an offensive tackle out of Vanderbilt.  Chicago ranked 30th in the NFL last season in rushing yards per game, so we’ll see if Williams, who stands at 6’6”, 315 pounds, can help them out.

The Lions, meanwhile, passed on the wide receiver position in favor of trading down a few spots with the Chiefs and ended up taking Gosder Cherilus, also on offensive tackle, out of Boston College.  Detroit was actually worse than Chicago in terms of rushing yards per game, ranking 31st in the league, so addressing the offensive line made sense for them as well.

Green Bay’s first pick in the 2008 NFL Draft is just a few spots away at No. 30 in the first round.

3:18p.m. – MVC team captain Pamela checks in again live from the Winter Park Field House to give her thoughts on the first few picks of the draft.

3:07 p.m. – The top six picks in the NFL Draft went pretty much as expected, but then the fireworks began.  The New Orleans Saints, who reportedly were trying to trade up to the No. 5 spot in the draft, were unable to pull off that trade with the Kansas City Chiefs; however, the Saints went ahead and completed a deal with the New England Patriots to move up three spots and took defensive end Sedrick Ellis out of USC.  The Saints gave up their third round pick this season to move up, and also received New England’s fifth round pick as part of the deal.

Then, the Baltimore Ravens continued the trend of trading out of the top ten by dealing the eighth pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who originally held the 26th pick.  The Jags fortified their defense by picking Derrick Harvey, a defensive end out of Florida.  Vikings fans may remember that name, as there were rumors the Vikings were interested in taking Harvey with the 17th overall pick before they dealt that to Kansas City.  With Harvey being the third defensive end to go in the top nine picks, it further validates the Vikings’ decision to deal for Allen.

To move up, the Jags gave up a pair of third round picks and a fourth round pick.

2:20 p.m. – The 2008 NFL Draft is officially underway and teams in the top ten continue to make their selections. But there was also action going on at the 2008 Miller Lite Vikings Draft Party, as Jared Allen was introduced to the boisterous crowd.

Vikings Owner Zygi Wilf introduced his new defensive end to the crowd, and before doing so said he was proud of his team and of the Vikings fans. After the introduction, Vikings radio play-by-play talent Paul Allen chatted with Wilf and Allen on stage.

Be sure to check vikings.com later in the day for an exclusive Ben Leber-Jared Allen interview.

2:12 p.m. – Viktor checks in with Vikings fans, live from the 2008 Miller Lite Draft Party.

1:22 p.m. – Rick Spielman, Vikings Vice President of Player Personnel, sat down with vikings.com Writer Mike Wobschall this afternoon to do a Q&A session about the upcoming draft.

1:12 p.m. – Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader Pamela, who was the 2007 Team Captain, will be blogging all day long live from the 2008 Miller Lite Draft Party.  Click here to check out her first entry.

1:01 p.m. – Even though the Vikings traded their first round pick to the Kansas City Chiefs to acquire the services of Jared Allen, the first round of the NFL Draft is always exciting regardless of when or if your team is picking.  Like most drafts, this year’s opening round is filled with intrigue.

The Miami Dolphins took away some of that intrigue by agreeing to terms with Michigan offensive lineman Jake Long, and will formally make him the No. 1overall selection shortly after 2 p.m. CST when the NFL Draft gets underway.

After that, another Long is could be the man the St. Louis Rams choose as their top pick.  Virginia’s Chris Long and son of Hall of Famer Howie Long, could be headed to the Gateway City to help fortify the Rams’ front seven.

The Atlanta Falcons, who own the No. 3 pick, are obviously looking for a franchise quarterback after last season’s Mike Vick fiasco.  Will they tab Boston College’s Matt Ryan as that man?  Or will they go local and pick Louisiana State star Glen Dorsey?

Arguably the biggest wild card in this year’s draft is Arkansas running back Darren McFadden.  His troubled past could turn some teams off, but the Oakland Raiders – who own the No. 4 overall pick – have never been afraid of taking on players with a checkered history.  Vikings fans know how valuable a top ten pick can be when used on a running back.

After that, the Kansas City Chiefs, who own the No. 5 pick, are rumored to be shopping the pick to acquire even more draft picks (remember, they got three picks from the Vikings in the Allen trade).  The New England Patriots, who pick two spots after the Chiefs, are another team who could deal down in the draft to acquire more picks.

And sandwiched in between those two teams is the New York Jets.  You can bet that the Gang Green faithful will pack Radio City Music Hall and will not be afraid to let the Jets’ brass know their opinion of what the team decides to do with their top pick in the draft.

Stay tuned to vikings.com throughout the day for complete coverage of the 2008 NFL Draft.

12:06 p.m. – The 2008 Miller Lite Vikings Draft Party is live and kicking at Winter Park as fans await the 2:00 p.m. commencement on the NFL draft. In the hours before the draft begins, and even while the draft is going on, fans have an endless amount of entertainment options to keep them busy.

Current and former Vikings players will be on hand to sign autographs, a bevy of interactive games are available for fans to test their skills, and Viktor the Vikings and the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders are making their rounds to interact with fans as well.

There are various food and beverage stands, a VIP area, the Red Zone area, live programming on the huge stage which will feature Ben Leber and fantasy expert Paul Charchian breaking down films of the draft’s top prospects and much, much more.

Even though the Vikings don’t have a first-round pick, fans seem to be anxious for the draft and especially anxious to see Jared Allen.

“This year is a little bit different because we don’t have a first-round draft pick,” Jim, a fan and draft-party attendee from Cottage Grove, told me. “But we’re all excited because basically Jared Allen is our first-round pick. Jared seems to be a pretty personable guy, so I’m excited to hear from today. I’m sure he’ll make us all laugh and get us excited for next season.”

Allen is scheduled to sign autographs and make an appearance on stage at the 2008 Miller Lite Vikings Draft Party. Be sure to check vikings.com frequently for exclusive written and video content from Winter Park and the draft party.